After nearly one year in, I am compiling a list of the things and items that I have found most useful in taking care of Lola, as well as our favorite brands. These items are very individual to us, but I wanted a place to share the items that I found to be so wonderful during Lola's first year. I researched extensively what to buy before having her, but of course I knew we couldn't perfect it because so many of these things would depend on her preference.
None of these are affiliate links, and this is not meant to be an exhaustive list covering every category. It's just a list of stuff that we found, were recommended or were gifted, that we have found to be amazing, useful, or just really essential. Everything on this list is an item that we used or continue to use (nearly) every day and sometimes multiple times a day. Of course, given how quickly babies develop during this time, some things were absolutely essential which Lola has now outgrown. And similarly, I am sure there are things that we are using constantly now that we will soon cease to use.
1. i-angel hipseat carrier. We were gifted this and, after Lola turned 3 months, is the item that we use every day, multiple times a day. I know there are a lot of ergobaby fans out there, but for us, this was the absolute winner. I purchased a beautiful ergobaby carrier and promptly re-sold it when Lola turned 5 months because we probably used it a grand total of 10 times. The i-angel offers more support (it looks like Lola is sitting on a platform) and is a thin mesh layer which is ideal for our climate. She loves sitting up in it, facing out, interacting with the world at adult-height. We never use our babyzen stroller as a result. We find the detachable hipseat very supportive, as well, and so helpful for those moments when you just need to rest her somewhere, but not necessarily have her clipped in. Amazing.
2. Wubbanub pacifier. There are so many different kinds of pacifiers available out there. We tried a few and ultimately (for better or for worse) the Wubbanub has become the winner. We limit pacifier use only to nap time and bedtime, but it's clear at those moments every day that Lola loves, loves, loves her Wubbanub. She loves stroking the plush animal (the very soft elephant, lion, giraffe, etc.) while soothing herself to sleep. Because it has a larger footprint by virtue of the stuffed animal sewn on, Lola is also better able to find the pacifier at night when she wakes up, and she often uses it to soothe herself back to sleep.
3. Baby Bjorn high chair. This is such a simple piece of equipment, with no padding to get dirty or wet, no straps to get tangled or caught, and a beautiful, sturdy, streamlined design. Cleaning it is SUCH a breeze. Lola has been using this since she can sit up and she has all of her meals here, multiple times a day. The only tricky bit is that she figured out how to squeeze her (admittedly very slim and trim) little calf and ankle through the little space on the side and contort her leg onto the table. She has only done it for a few times and has not done it recently, but it does cause us a little bit of concern. While I eventually plan to integrate her into our dining room table, this has been a wonderful and easy chair for us for this transitional period.
4. LovetoDream Swaddle and Halo Sleepsack in cotton muslin. The LovetoDream swaddles were Lola's favorite when she was a newborn. She pretty quickly figured out how to force her (usually right) arm out of any other wrapped swaddle that we put her into, and we found this zippered swaddle to be the easiest and most convenient. It kept her soothed and yet allowed her to stretch her hands and arms up above her head. Once she was able to roll over, we used their transition swaddle to help her get used to having her arms free. Now that she's older, Lola sleeps in the Halo sleepsacks in cotton muslin which helps keep her ventilated and covered while the a/c runs. She wears these for every nap and every night.
5. SkipHop Changing Pad. We use this everywhere we go - it is a permanent fixture in Lola's diaper bag. It has come with us on every trip that we have taken and has been busted out on every flight.
6. Tiny Love Mobile and Music Box. One of Lola's favorite things to do when she was just a tiny infant was to lie on her back and stare at this mobile. She would jiggle her feet and legs and arms, trying to dance to the music. When she progressed to sitting up and being able to pull on the animals, we took off the top and just kept the music box. When she progressed to being able to press the buttons with her feet or hands, or possibly hitting her head, we progressed to putting the music box nearby and using the soothing lullaby setting at naptime or bedtime. We still use it now. It has been absolutely amazing and I'm so glad I heeded my friend's advice to buy this instead of a pretty artsy mobile that would never have kept Lola entertained for this long!
7. Jellycat bunny soother and Jellycat bunny. These are the softest stuffed animals that you can imagine. Lola didn't really like stuffed animals until we introduced these specifically at bedtime. She fell suddenly and swiftly in love with the Jellycat bunny's ears, which are long and soft and which she uses to tickle and rub slowly over her nose and eyes. If she's feeling generous, she will extend an ear to your nose for you to rub. But otherwise, she has never really taken to any other stuffed animals.
8. Guava Travel Crib and Playpen. I also bought their matching bassinet for Lola when she was a newborn, but we really honestly never used it except for a few moments during her bath time. The playpen, on the other hand, we use quite a bit. It is well padded but very safe with a secure baby proof zipper. She could technically sleep in this but we have never used it for that purpose; instead, she just plays in there whenever we need to run to the bathroom/make milk/step into the kitchen. I chose this one over the babybjorn because of the zipper that allows you to get in there with her on ground-level.
9. Braun In-Ear Thermometer. Most accurate thermometer out of all of the ones we tried. This is also what our pediatrician uses. Skip the forehead ones, what inaccurate garbage.
10. Piyo-Piyo curved nail scissors. Very well designed baby scissors that are sharp and precise but still very safe, with a curved blade and a rounded tip. As Lola has gotten more active, we now need something on the TV to keep her still, but these remain without a doubt the best for mini fingers and toes.
11. Carter's. Lola sleeps in the long sleeved Carter's bodysuits and they are so soft and comfortable. Interesting tip for those in warm weather climates or for whose babies run hot - while the bodysuits with side buttons look to be much easier to put on the baby (rather than those that go over the head) they are warmer because it is essentially a double layer on the baby's front.
12. Jacadi. I had never heard of Jacadi before having a baby in Hong Kong, but call me a convert. Their clothes are insanely expensive given how little they are, but they are so cute and they are perfect for so many occasions that we find ourselves reaching for these over and over again. In that way, they are actually very economical because we get a ton of use out of them. Our favorites are especially their Liberty prints (because, flowers!).
13. Seed hairclips. Another thing that is on the pricey end, but I can't resist all of their fun and pretty designs, and they are one of the few stores that consistently sell hair clips with cloth-wrapped clips so that it does not damage Lola's fine baby hair.
None of these are affiliate links, and this is not meant to be an exhaustive list covering every category. It's just a list of stuff that we found, were recommended or were gifted, that we have found to be amazing, useful, or just really essential. Everything on this list is an item that we used or continue to use (nearly) every day and sometimes multiple times a day. Of course, given how quickly babies develop during this time, some things were absolutely essential which Lola has now outgrown. And similarly, I am sure there are things that we are using constantly now that we will soon cease to use.
1. i-angel hipseat carrier. We were gifted this and, after Lola turned 3 months, is the item that we use every day, multiple times a day. I know there are a lot of ergobaby fans out there, but for us, this was the absolute winner. I purchased a beautiful ergobaby carrier and promptly re-sold it when Lola turned 5 months because we probably used it a grand total of 10 times. The i-angel offers more support (it looks like Lola is sitting on a platform) and is a thin mesh layer which is ideal for our climate. She loves sitting up in it, facing out, interacting with the world at adult-height. We never use our babyzen stroller as a result. We find the detachable hipseat very supportive, as well, and so helpful for those moments when you just need to rest her somewhere, but not necessarily have her clipped in. Amazing.
2. Wubbanub pacifier. There are so many different kinds of pacifiers available out there. We tried a few and ultimately (for better or for worse) the Wubbanub has become the winner. We limit pacifier use only to nap time and bedtime, but it's clear at those moments every day that Lola loves, loves, loves her Wubbanub. She loves stroking the plush animal (the very soft elephant, lion, giraffe, etc.) while soothing herself to sleep. Because it has a larger footprint by virtue of the stuffed animal sewn on, Lola is also better able to find the pacifier at night when she wakes up, and she often uses it to soothe herself back to sleep.
3. Baby Bjorn high chair. This is such a simple piece of equipment, with no padding to get dirty or wet, no straps to get tangled or caught, and a beautiful, sturdy, streamlined design. Cleaning it is SUCH a breeze. Lola has been using this since she can sit up and she has all of her meals here, multiple times a day. The only tricky bit is that she figured out how to squeeze her (admittedly very slim and trim) little calf and ankle through the little space on the side and contort her leg onto the table. She has only done it for a few times and has not done it recently, but it does cause us a little bit of concern. While I eventually plan to integrate her into our dining room table, this has been a wonderful and easy chair for us for this transitional period.
4. LovetoDream Swaddle and Halo Sleepsack in cotton muslin. The LovetoDream swaddles were Lola's favorite when she was a newborn. She pretty quickly figured out how to force her (usually right) arm out of any other wrapped swaddle that we put her into, and we found this zippered swaddle to be the easiest and most convenient. It kept her soothed and yet allowed her to stretch her hands and arms up above her head. Once she was able to roll over, we used their transition swaddle to help her get used to having her arms free. Now that she's older, Lola sleeps in the Halo sleepsacks in cotton muslin which helps keep her ventilated and covered while the a/c runs. She wears these for every nap and every night.
5. SkipHop Changing Pad. We use this everywhere we go - it is a permanent fixture in Lola's diaper bag. It has come with us on every trip that we have taken and has been busted out on every flight.
6. Tiny Love Mobile and Music Box. One of Lola's favorite things to do when she was just a tiny infant was to lie on her back and stare at this mobile. She would jiggle her feet and legs and arms, trying to dance to the music. When she progressed to sitting up and being able to pull on the animals, we took off the top and just kept the music box. When she progressed to being able to press the buttons with her feet or hands, or possibly hitting her head, we progressed to putting the music box nearby and using the soothing lullaby setting at naptime or bedtime. We still use it now. It has been absolutely amazing and I'm so glad I heeded my friend's advice to buy this instead of a pretty artsy mobile that would never have kept Lola entertained for this long!
7. Jellycat bunny soother and Jellycat bunny. These are the softest stuffed animals that you can imagine. Lola didn't really like stuffed animals until we introduced these specifically at bedtime. She fell suddenly and swiftly in love with the Jellycat bunny's ears, which are long and soft and which she uses to tickle and rub slowly over her nose and eyes. If she's feeling generous, she will extend an ear to your nose for you to rub. But otherwise, she has never really taken to any other stuffed animals.
8. Guava Travel Crib and Playpen. I also bought their matching bassinet for Lola when she was a newborn, but we really honestly never used it except for a few moments during her bath time. The playpen, on the other hand, we use quite a bit. It is well padded but very safe with a secure baby proof zipper. She could technically sleep in this but we have never used it for that purpose; instead, she just plays in there whenever we need to run to the bathroom/make milk/step into the kitchen. I chose this one over the babybjorn because of the zipper that allows you to get in there with her on ground-level.
9. Braun In-Ear Thermometer. Most accurate thermometer out of all of the ones we tried. This is also what our pediatrician uses. Skip the forehead ones, what inaccurate garbage.
10. Piyo-Piyo curved nail scissors. Very well designed baby scissors that are sharp and precise but still very safe, with a curved blade and a rounded tip. As Lola has gotten more active, we now need something on the TV to keep her still, but these remain without a doubt the best for mini fingers and toes.
11. Carter's. Lola sleeps in the long sleeved Carter's bodysuits and they are so soft and comfortable. Interesting tip for those in warm weather climates or for whose babies run hot - while the bodysuits with side buttons look to be much easier to put on the baby (rather than those that go over the head) they are warmer because it is essentially a double layer on the baby's front.
12. Jacadi. I had never heard of Jacadi before having a baby in Hong Kong, but call me a convert. Their clothes are insanely expensive given how little they are, but they are so cute and they are perfect for so many occasions that we find ourselves reaching for these over and over again. In that way, they are actually very economical because we get a ton of use out of them. Our favorites are especially their Liberty prints (because, flowers!).
13. Seed hairclips. Another thing that is on the pricey end, but I can't resist all of their fun and pretty designs, and they are one of the few stores that consistently sell hair clips with cloth-wrapped clips so that it does not damage Lola's fine baby hair.
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